Improvement in water-wheels



E.\B. & w. P. LYON.

Water-Wheels.

Patented May 26,1874.

f W rol im IIII H Il l HNI Yu UNITED STATES@ PA'riIN'IV OFFICE.

EDWARD D. LYON AND wILLIAM r. LYoN7 or' FRANKLINTON, N. o.

IMPROVEMENT IN WATER=WHEELS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 151,231, dated May 26, 1874 application filed October 24, 1873. p

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, EDWARD B. LYON and WILLIAM l?. LYON, of Franklinton, county of Franklin and State of North Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tobacco-Presses, of which thefollowing is a specification:

Our invention relates to certain improvements in water wheels, designed more especia-lly for application to our improvement in tobacco-presses. The invention consists in the peculiar form of the gates and of the wheel, as hereinafter particularly described and set forth.V

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a front view of our invention. Fig. 2 is a top View, partly in section.

A represents the flume, through which the water is supplied to the wheel through trunks B1 B2. (l is the casing, which incloses the wheel D. The trunks B1 B2 are provided with gates b1 b2, by which the supply of water may be regulated or cut oft' altogether. These gates are arranged to move horizontally instead of vertically, by which means the water passing through the trunks impinges against the buckets nearer their outer ends than would be the case if the gates moved vertically. The gates are provided with levers or other suitable mechanism for operating them. The wheel D is provided with double floats or buckets; or, in other words, each float is composed of two sides, d1 cl2, extending tangentially from the hub cl3, and meeting at a point near the casing C, so that the buckets resemble the points of a star. Vhen the water passes through the trunk B1 it impinges against the sides d1, and when passing through the trunk B2 it impinges against the sides d2. Thus the direction in which the wheel revolves depends upon whether the water passes through the trunk B1 or the trunk B2. Attached to the hub d3 is a vertical shaft, E, the lower end of which is properly stepped underneath the wheel, and the upper end is journaled in the framework of the machine. Near the upper end of the shaft E is a long pinion, Gr, which engages with a toot-hed wheel, H, on a vertical shaft, I, which has a follOwer,K, attached to the lower end. rlhe upper portion of the shaft I, below the gear-wheel H, has :a screwthread cut on it, and passes through the headblock L of the press, and engages with a female thread cut therein.

The vessel containing the tobacco or other article to be pressed is placed on the footblock M of the press immediately under the follower K. The gate b1 is then opened, and the water passes from the flume A through the trunk B1, and impinges against the sides d1 ofthe buckets, causing the wheel to revolve in the direction of the arrow. As the wheel revolves, the engagement of the long pinion G with the toothed wheel H, and the engagement of the screw-thread on the shaft l with the female thread in the head-block L, cause the follower K to descend and press the tobacco or other article in the vessel. Vhen the follower has descended a suflicient distance, the gate b1 is closed and the gate b2 is opened, when the water passes through the trunk B2, impin gin g against the sides d of the buckets, reversing' the motion of the wheel, and causing the follower to rise to its former position.

That we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The combination of the llume A, trunks BI B2, and wheel D, havin g ioat-s formed with the two sides d1 cl2, whereby the wheel may be caused to rotate in either direction, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our invention we hereunto afx our signatures this 14th day of October, 1873.

EDWARD D. LYON. WILLIAM r. LYON.

Vitnesses It. P. FLOYD, JOHN It. OvEnBnY. 

